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07/06/2004 Entry: "HP Ipaq 1915 short review"

I just bought a hp iPAQ 1915 to replace my venerable Palm Vx (the ipaq 1915 is basically the same as the 1910). I am happy, mainly because the price I paid for the 1915 was unbeatable ... at normal prices I would still buy the Palm Zire 71, although using the Pocket PC for a week has been much more enjoyable than I expected. Read on ...

This is the third Pocket PC/Windows CE machine I have bought. I didn't like my first one a few years ago and have used a Palm Vx for the last three years. The other Pocket PC is for a GPS system. For me, the most important factor in a PDA is size, because the only PDA you will take with you everywhere is a small one. Obviously, the IPAQ 1915 is wonderful in that respect; it is the smallest serious PDA on the market, including the new Palms (The Tungsten T is smaller in the closed mode, but it is thicker and heavier, and bigger when open).
The PocketPC operating system is much faster and more reliable than it was; I hardly ever need to do soft resets now. And the 1915 is fast when using the builtin apps, as fast as the Palm, another suprise. The memory usage is about the same as the Palm; my contacts, diary and AvantGo take the same or less memory on the 1915, and there is so much more RAM available in total. The interface is improved over Windows CE but still more clumsy than the Palm user interface. However, it is intuitive and the handwriting recognition (Transcriber) has reached the point where it is really useful. I have a Pocket Loox PocketPC device for a GPS system, and although the processor is clocked twice as fast, the 1915 actually seems quicker. I notice no delays in switching or lauching apps (using older PocketPC devices caused me some amusement: despite the famous power of the platform, most basic things like switching on and lauching the standard apps often required a noticeable delay, so different to the Palm. I still see this in the Pocket Loox, a higher spec device, but not in the 1015, which is perhaps due to the shadowing of the OS ROM in RAM ... whatever, the performance is very good).
The display on the 1915 is excellent. Battery life for me will average around four days, a big change from two weeks for the Palm Vx but the backlit display is incomparable. Also, there is the possibility of swapping batteries, but the price of an additional battery and the almost necessary docking station (for charging) is at the moment ridiculous.
I got my 1915 for Eur 200 (web promotion) and at that price the machine is a steal. At normal prices in the Netherlands (about Eur 350), I would have gone with the Palm Zire 71. Due to the 1915, I have learnt that my suspicions about PocketPC were unfounded. Although I now consider the PocketPC platform as good as the Palm platform on balance, there is no compelling reason to change for the Palm user. I still think the Zire 71, which is around Eur 300 here, is a better buy; it is bigger, but it has a higher resolution screen, and bluetooth possibility. For PocketPC users who don't want to buy a Palm, the IPAQ 1915 at last gives them a really useful PDA (as opposed to the normal Pocket PC offer which is a surprisingly powerful small computer that does not unfotunately fit in pockets). At last the diehard PocketPC user can understand why millions of people use the Palm platform.
Further points about the 1915 : The lack of a docking station is a minor irritation, the lack of a case is seriously annoying. The build quality is excellent. The 1915 team at HP can be really proud of what the have made.
Update as of July 2004: I have still have the 1915, still very happy. I think the 1930 model has reached a good value for money, so I might upgrade soon for the longer battery life (the only irritation of the 1915). But if you are thinking of buying a second hand 1915, be confident that it's a good machine.

Replies: 4 comments

Great review, now i know some of the things i wanted to know! Thanx alot

Posted by Ricardo @ 10/15/2003 11:06 AM GMT+1

great review .lots of questions answerd..

you should work for comp magazines

Posted by rob @ 10/14/2003 10:48 PM GMT+1

I was very pleased to find your review. I have Palm VX but unfortunately it's battery is allmost dead. Now I'm waiting for my new h1915 to be delivered me tomorrow.

Posted by Antti @ 09/14/2003 11:46 AM GMT+1

Thanks, this is what I was looking for

Posted by K-Noord @ 09/08/2003 12:36 PM GMT+1